


home, for my heart still calls me

by yabamena



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types
Genre: Canon - Anime, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, M/M, Past Tense, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 22:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1099260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yabamena/pseuds/yabamena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was nearly autumn before Shion realized he was homesick. It took him that long to realize that Nezumi's nest was more home to him than the flat above his mother's bakery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	home, for my heart still calls me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rhea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhea/gifts).



> It's my first attempt at writing for this fandom, but I hope my giftee enjoys this anyway. Thanks to mysticshell and gliese581 for the beta.

He'd been walking for almost a full day, picking his way through the remains of West Block. He paused only long enough to scavenge the barest of supplies before joining the ever-growing trail of people winding their way towards the crumbled walls of the city. They moved like ghosts drifting towards the lure of heaven or sleepwalkers shuffling along a road in their dreams. Their faces were slack with awe and fear. But sometimes Shion imagined he saw hope there, too.

It kept him going, that and whatever Elyuria had left humming in his veins after his resurrection. That and the vision of his mother's face in his mind. Even with making frequent stops to care for the child in his arms, to let him suckle from Dog or change his soiled rag diapers for clean ones, Shion couldn't let himself rest.

Night came and went, the child—Kouki, Shion decided along the way—nestled in his arms, Hamlet perched on his shoulder, and Dog trudging along by his side. They were his only constants in the shifting tide of people he passed; as steady as his pace, one foot in front of the other. Morning broke, making the wreckage of the wall throw long shadows across the wastes, and Shion felt like they were reaching for him, pulling him towards his mother. The hours made the shadows shorten, and Shion's stride grew longer until he was practically running. The setting sun found him chasing his own shadow as it lengthened before him.

His limbs were starting to tremble and his feet had gone from throbbing to curiously numb hours ago. But he was so close now. If he could make it up over this last rise...

Shion was moments from collapse when he found his mother again.

She was standing on a pile of wall rubble, her hair and eyes were wild as she scanned every face that passed. Shion barely recognized her, her familiarity superimposed by this new impression he would just as soon forget.

She didn't recognize him either. Shion saw her gaze skim over him before darting back. Her eyes grew so wide Shion had to laugh at how strange she looked. Even across the shifting river of people between them, and despite the tears running down her cheeks, his mother smiled back.

~

As much as No.6 set itself apart from the world, placed itself upon a pedestal as an untouchable and perfect jewel compared to the other cities—the last, the best, the brightest—it did not exist in a vacuum. When No.6 fell, it only took hours for the shockwave to ripple through the few remaining communication lines left after Elyurias's destruction.

Despite being their closest neighbor, it took weeks for aid to arrive from No.5. Every elite in power was dead and the void was too large to be filled in such a short time. There was no one in charge at first to work out the logistics of getting the help No.6 needed. Like Nezumi predicted, there was chaos: supply shortages, power struggles, lootings, clashes in the street between West Block refugees looking for something better and Chronos survivors trying to protect what they had left. Lost Town was sometimes caught in the middle. But as bad as it got, it got better with time. Not perfect, but better, and that was for the best. Perfection was far too easy to corrupt.

~

It's not that Shion made a conscious decision to stay with his mother for so long. It's just that, things were unstable and dangerous for a while. It was just her to look after the shop, and now there was Kouki to worry about, too. Shion knew his mother needed the help and they were both too grateful to have each other back. Rikiga came to Lost Town a few times, each visit brief and awkward. He was obviously still infatuated with Shion's mother, but she was too kind to turn him away. Their shared past allowed them to provide each other with a comfort Shion couldn't quite understand but didn't resent.

Inukashi never left West Block, but she sent rats with messages now and then. According to her, business was booming. Shion wasn't sure if she was just saying that, but it was good to hear she was doing well whether it was the truth or not. Besides, he knew her family would take care of her.

Neither Rikiga nor Inukashi mentioned Nezumi and Shion didn't ask. 

The rats didn't bring word either.

_'Time heals all wounds'._

Shion remembered reading that in one of Nezumi's books. It never mentioned anything about the scars, though, or the lingering ache when a wound didn't heal right.

~

It was nearly autumn before Shion realized he was homesick. It took him that long to realize that Nezumi's nest was more home to him than the flat above his mother's bakery. He missed the walls papered with sheet music and the warm glow of lamps.

He missed so much more, but he held out until the smell of baking bread clung to him more than the memory of the musty sweetness of aged books.

This time Shion set out with as many supplies as he could carry. His mother helped him pack some clothes and plenty of food, including a few pieces of cherry cake to eat along the way. Shion left Kouki for his mother to care for, and he left Dog to care for his mother. He promised them all he would come visit again soon.

When he set out for Nezumi's nest, the sky was clear and the wind was at his back. Shion only wished it would catch him up and send him flying so he could get there even faster.

~

The shanties of West Block had been replaced by newer, sturdier structures, those who decided to stay putting down roots that would be harder to tear up in the future. There was a lingering resentment in the air there that Shion understood; there were more graves than houses.

Still, those graves were covered with green grass and wildflowers. Miles and miles of it burst up from the earth, as if the walls of No.6 had been depriving West Block of spring for all those years and now it was back with a vengeance.

But then, wasn't that exactly the truth?

Nature spread through West Block, determined and irrepressible, creeping across the hills leading to Nezumi's hole in the ground in a living carpet that softened the craggy rises to smudges of greenery. The air was fresher than Shion had ever breathed outside of No.6, and even then, the city's air had never been heavy with the richness of earth and sun and _life_. Here was Elyuria, and with her, Safu.

Shion did his mourning, though, and the too-familiar ache in his chest was replaced by another, newer pang as he crested the last hill. Home.

~

The sun is at his back now, still strong enough to burn his neck this late in the year, but the breeze is cool across his face and brings with it the soft strains of someone humming. Heart suddenly pounding, Shion rounds the remains of a crumbling wall, a tangible border marking Nezumi's territory from the rest of West Block—and there he is.

Nezumi's crouched next to a small, salvaged grill. The sight is unfamiliar, but Nezumi hasn't changed at all. His hair is pulled up as usual and somehow his arms have managed to stay pale through the summer despite the sleeveless t-shirt that Nezumi's obviously worn near to death. He pauses in his tune to flip over a slab of meat with a lazy turn of his wrist. The sizzling sets Shion's stomach growling.

He freezes, all his thoughts and everything he'd hoped to say leaving his mind in a rush. Nezumi doesn't react at all, though, just keeps on humming and for a moment Shion thinks he's gone undetected until—

"I shouldn't feed you at all with how late you are."

Nezumi's looking at him now. Shion feels pinned under his knife-bright gaze and he can't help but think of that night four years ago.

But there's a hint of a smile at the corner of Nezumi's mouth, a warmth in his eyes that coaxes Shion closer.

He's smiling back, bright and wide, as he drops his pack and joins Nezumi by the grill.

He is finally settled.


End file.
